Project launched for conservation ahead of regional autonomy plan
Project launched for conservation ahead of regional autonomy plan
JAKARTA (JP): A pilot project on protecting the environment
ahead of the enactment of regional autonomy has been launched
in three West Java regencies -- Kuningan, Majalengka and Cirebon.
The project is specifically designed to anticipate the
implementation of regional autonomy, which many environmentalists
fear could put conservation issues on the backburner.
The project was agreed upon following the Linggarjati
Environment Meeting which ended here on Sunday, prominent
environmentalist Emil Salim said.
"The focal point is an area stretching from Mount Ciremai --
about 3,078 meters high -- to Cirebon's coast," Emil said in a
statement made available for The Jakarta Post on Monday.
"An integrated spatial planning between the three regencies is
needed so we can avoid possible misuse of these mountainous
ecosystems. That way each local administration will not make the
mistake of exploiting the natural environment without preserving
it," Emil said.
Mount Ciremai is a water catchment area which has at least 620
springs, which are the sources for rivers such as Cimanuk and
Cisanggarung, which altogether provide about 90 percent water
being used for drinking, household necessities, irrigation,
agriculture, plantations as well as industries in the three
regencies.
"Now the water resources for these three regencies are
declining due to various activities on Ciremai, such as mining,"
Emil, who is chairman of Indonesia's Biodiversity (Kehati)
Foundation.
Emil, a noted economist who has also served as minister of the
environment, said the danger lies in the fact that biodiversity
is not positioned as a central part of the country's development.
"Regional autonomy is a drastic change for this country".
"Therefore we hope to identify priorities and solutions to the
problems of managing sustainable development within an autonomous
decentralized region and foster cooperation between business and
other countries such as the Netherlands," he said.
The two-day meeting held here was initiated by Kehati, along
with FINED (Jakarta-based Indonesian-Netherlands Forum) and the
Netherlands-based FNI (Forum Netherlands-Indonesia).
Among the recommendations of the meeting was a public-private
partnership to develop a funding mechanism to support
conservation management on a sustainable basis.
The provincial government along with related agencies should
be responsible for land-use planning, including water usage, Emil
added.
"Actually such handling has been practiced in North Sulawesi,
in which water resources are managed by a water users'
association. The West Java administration is also preparing a
master water plan, like those in the Netherlands and Canada" the
statement said.
The meeting also proposed a national spatial plan, from the
provincial to regency level. The plan must also be attached to a
water-usage plan for administrations from the national to the
regency level. (edt)